MILWAUKEE, Wis. - On Thursday, the Concordia University Wisconsin men's track and field team showcased its depth and versatility by competing at two separate meets.
The majority of the team traveled to Historic Raabe Stadium for the Wisconsin Lutheran Green & White Invite, while senior Jacob Couillard (Kingsford, Mich.) and sophomore Zach Wendland (Green Bay, Wis.) headed south to Illinois for the prestigious Meet of Champions hosted by Augustana, where they took part in the decathlon.
At the halfway mark of the ten-event decathlon, both Couillard and Wendland completed five events: the 100-meter dash, 400-meter dash, high jump, long jump, and shot put. Wendland sits in eighth place out of 25 athletes with 3,091 points, while Couillard currently holds 18th with 2,247 points. The duo will wrap up their competition on Friday.
Meanwhile, back in Milwaukee, the Falcons put together a strong showing at the WLC Invite despite no team scores being recorded.
In the 4x100-meter relay, the team of Victor Watson Jr. (Fr., Cypress, Texas), Se'Korrey Thomas (So., Punta Gorda, Fla.), Brock Roseman (Fr., Pueblo, Colo.), and Jalen Pressley (Jr., Leesburg, Fla.) earned a third-place finish with a time of 44.22 seconds.
Freshman Jonah Slavik (Muskego, Wis.) led the distance events with a commanding first-place finish in the 3000-meter steeplechase, clocking in at 10:25.22.
In the sprints, sophomore Isaiah Lubner (Campbellsport, Wis.) took second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.34 seconds.
The Falcons found great success in the hurdles as well. Junior Brandon Donahue (Hubertus, Wis.) captured first place in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.92 seconds. In the 400-meter hurdles, Josh Sipes (Charleston, Ill.) finished second in 59.33 seconds.
Senior Zach Leahy (East Dundee, Ill.) delivered one of the day's standout performances, winning the 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.58 against a field that included NCAA Division I and II competition.
Leahy also helped secure a second-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay alongside Lucas Mathes (Fr., Brillion, Wis.), Roseman, and Lubner. The quartet finished in 3:29.66.
CUW also made a strong impact in the field events. In the javelin, senior Holter Gette (Batavia, Ill.) led the charge with a winning throw of 53.51 meters, while freshman Justin Clark (Goodyear, Ariz.) took third with a 47.21-meter mark.
Junior John Kutner (Muskego, Wis.) earned second place in the hammer throw with a mark of 41.55 meters. In the discus, Hayden Kettman (Beecher, Ill.) placed fourth with a throw of 34.67 meters. Kettman also recorded CUW's best finish in the shot put, taking sixth with a mark of 12.28 meters.
Competition for Couillard and Wendland will resume Friday at Augustana, while the rest of the Falcons enjoy a well-deserved break after a successful day on the track and in the field.
